1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus capable of transmitting a printing job to an image recording apparatus having a plurality of storing units for storing sheets on which images are formed, or an image recording apparatus to which an option apparatus having a plurality of storing units can be connected, and a image recording apparatus as well as a method for controlling a data processing and a method for controlling an image recording apparatus, and a storage medium.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, computers are connected to each other by a LAN (Local Area Network), and a LAN connection is possible not only for printers but also for various peripheral equipment such as a multi-function image processing apparatus equipped with the copying and facsimile functions.
In a conventional image recording apparatus, a sheet discharge port of an image recording apparatus is, in most cases, utilized as a place for temporarily storing discharged sheets of a user that are printed even in a case in which the image recording apparatus is connected by a LAN and used in a network environment, and when a document is actually distributed to a department requiring the document, the necessary number of printed documents printed by a printer are sorted and copied by a copying machine and are brought to a box in which respective items to be distributed are placed, and are then distributed.
FIG. 37 is a view illustrating a utilized form of a conventional printer, and corresponds to a case in which copied documents are distributed to each department such as “First Personnel Department,” “Second Personnel Department,” “Third Personnel Department,” “First Secretary Department,” “Second Secretary Department,” “Third Secretary Department” and “Administration Department.”
In the drawing, the printer is only used for outputting a part of original documents prepared by a host computer, and the necessary number of documents corresponding to the number of departments to which copies are distributed are copied by a copying machine based on the original document outputted by the printer and are distributed to a box for items to be distributed by a user manually.
In addition, even in a case in which a single printer is shared by a plurality of users and printed documents are sorted only by a printer without using a copying machine as done in a mail box (a conventional pseudo-mail box sheet discharge), in some cases, a printer driver in a host computer registers and stores in advance a name corresponding to each sheet discharge port registered by a user over a printer driver U1 (a user interface) as information on the host computer in a memory inside the printer itself, and the printer documents are sorted to a sheet discharge port designated by name by a user as a pseudo-mail box sheet discharge by designating a fixed sheet discharge port for the printer instead of designating the name of the sheet discharge port.
FIG. 38 is a view schematically illustrating conversion processing of a sheet discharge distribution address of a conventional printer driver with respect to the sheet discharge distribution address by name by a user.
In the drawing, if a sheet discharge distribution address “first Personnel Department” among the names of the sheet discharge distribution address registered in the printer driver in advance, is designated by a user, the printer driver converts the sheet discharge distribution address to a fixed sheet discharge port “bin 1” registered as “first Personnel Department” and notify the printer that the designation of the sheet discharge port is made to “bin 1” thereby to realize the designation of sheet discharge port by a pseudo-name.
However, the above-mentioned conventional example has the following problems.
In a case such as to distribute an identical document to departments requiring the document, since the necessary number of documents must be printed and distributed by a user sorting them manually, or one document is printed as an original and the necessary number of which is copied and distributed, a user consumed substantial time for sorting or distributing the documents.
In addition, in the above-mentioned conventional pseudo-mail box sheet discharge, since a method employed is to register the name of a sheet discharge port of an image recording apparatus on a host computer and the sheet discharge distribution address is converted to a fixed designation to a sheet discharge port with the name (i.e., in the case of an environment in which a single image recording apparatus is shared by plural host computers, the names of storage units are independently registered respectively for each host computer by an original setting of a user of the host computer), documents cannot be completely sorted in an actual implementation unless an identical name is registered and used for all the host computer sharing the image recording apparatus. There is also a problem that it is highly troublesome to make a setting the same for all the host computer sharing the image recording apparatus, and, without this operation, a document is discharged to a sheet discharge port that is not intended by a user.
Problems of the above-mentioned conventional pseudo-mail box sheet discharge will be hereinafter described with reference to FIG. 39.
FIG. 39 is a view illustrating problems in the conventional pseudo-mail box sheet discharge, and corresponds to a case in which a setting on a host computer for conducting a sheet discharge by the conventional pseudo-mail box sheet discharge is not standardized.
In the illustrated example, a sheet discharge is implemented by setting a bin 1 for a director, a bin 2 for the room chief, a bin 3 for a supervisor, a bin 4 for a staff member A, a bin 5 for a staff member B, a bin 6 for a staff member C and a bin 7 for a secretary. In line with the implementation form in-this office, the director, the room chief and the supervisor register the names of storage units by themselves on host computers they own respectively, and when printing, by designating a name, performs a fixed designation with respect to a sheet discharge port corresponding to the name and have the sheet discharge port to sort simulatively.
However, as shown in the drawing, although the director and the supervisor correctly set the name registrations respectively in their own computers in accordance with the implementation form in this office, since the room chief make a wrong setting by setting a bin of the director and the bin of the room chief wrongly and register the setting in their own apparatus (i.e., due to the state in which the setting of the computer of the room chief among each computer for the director, the room chief and the supervisor is different from that of the others and is a wrong setting), a problem easily occur that a job of the director and a job of the room chief are mixed in the bin 1 and the bin 2 in the printer side.
In addition, even if a sorting is performed by a designation from the host computer, if a printed document is distributed to a plurality of users, since printed data are required to be transmitted to a printer several times (the number of times equal to the number of people the document is distributed to), there is a problem that a load on a network is increased, and overall performance is deteriorated not only in printing but also in all the transmissions and receptions via the network.